Windbreakers Are Back. I Wish They Weren’t

In theory, a great jacket should finish a look. I love the way a leather jacket toughens a style, or how an oversized blazer brings a sense of professionalism. Windbreakers, meanwhile, always feel like they were added at the last minute because someone checked the weather app and panicked.

And then there’s the fabric. I know the loud crinkly material is technically part of the charm, but psychologically, I cannot separate it from gym class. The sound alone transports me directly back to public-school bleachers, stale Gatorade and being told to do pushups against my will. No matter how luxurious the runway styling becomes, somewhere in my brain, the windbreaker remains spiritually linked to adolescent humiliation.

The silhouette also doesn’t work for me. Windbreakers tend to have that boxy, zip-up shape that sits awkwardly on my small frame. They erase proportion rather than create it. 

Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a windbreaker on someone else the same way I appreciate combat boots. Not my thing, but I get it. On the right person, the sporty awkwardness works. Someone like Zoë Kravitz can throw on a funnel-neck windbreaker with a silk slip skirt and heels—like she did during the Saint Laurent spring/summer 2026 show in Paris. It was very relaxed and it-girl. On her, a windbreaker adds a touch of contrast. 

Still, no matter how many stylists or TikTok influencers try to convince me to join in the windbreaker hoopla, I fear I will always hear the faint sound of sneakers squeaking against a gymnasium floor every time one zips up. And that my friends, is not the millennial nostalgia I’ll ever want.